Desperate people are walking up to 20 miles to get emergency food handouts, charities said yesterday.

The hungry are turning up at food banks on foot because they cannot afford public transport.

Nearly all of them have their own homes and many of them are in work, say the charities.

Helping hand: Trussell Trust’s Mark Ward (Picture: BNPS)

One woman walked a round trip of almost 20 miles through torrential rain to collect rations, while another, who had not eaten for two days, slogged 12 miles on foot despite suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

The Rev Andy Batchelor, who has seen the situation in Ulverston, Cumbria, said: ‘It’s a sign of the desperation people feel that they will walk that far. I know sometimes volunteers have given them a lift a back in their car but that’s not always possible so they’ve had to walk back.’

The number of people turning to food banks is expected to double to more than 220,000 this year.

Charities expect the problem to worsen with further benefit cuts in today’s autumn statement.

Dot Jackson, from the Barrow food bank, said one woman in her late 50s walked almost ten miles each way in driving rain to collect food.

‘She arrived here looking like a drowned rat. We filled her bags with food but we felt totally useless because we couldn’t pay for her transport to get her home.’

The arthritis sufferer, 42, told Metro she visited a food bank in Salisbury, Wiltshire, after walking 12 miles. She said: ‘It was painful but I had no money left and I couldn’t afford the £5.70 bus fare.’

In another example, a mother hitchiked and walked to a food bank in Cornwall with her child in a pram. Oxfam’s Sarah Dransfield said benefits cuts were a major cause. ‘A lot of people will be struggling this Christmas,’ she added.